The push to put a city parking lease to a vote fell flat Tuesday as the City Council rejected a motion to put the question on the June ballot. It was City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy who first suggested in November that the voters should have a say in whether the city leases its parking inventory to an outside company. She conducted a city-wide poll on her website in October, which indicated that 70 percent of respondents favored a public vote on a potential 50-year lease, according to Sheedy. “The (arena) plan hinges on leasing the city’s parking for 50 years,” Sheedy said Tuesday. “I think such a massive public investment warrants a public vote.” Still, after almost an hour of public d

Mayor Kevin Johnson said 13 companies have expressed interest in leasing the city’s parking system for the next 50 years – a move he described as “promising” as the city looks to bring in $240 million to finance an arena through the process. “(The responses) show a lot of interest. That is consistent with what we expected,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “It is really encouraging.” The 13 “letters of intent” arrived after the city sent more than 100 letters to parking operators across the nation in early January. The deadline for interested parties to respond was Monday. The names of the interested companies will be released Thursday, Johnson said. Alt

On the eve of discussion about her goal of putting arena financing to a public vote, City Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy announced that she will not be running for re-election to her District 2 council seat in June. “After careful consideration, I have decided not to seek another term on the Sacramento City Council,” Sheedy said in a prepared statement Monday. Sheedy cited 28 years of public service between herself and her husband, Ted, a former county supervisor, adding, “We feel it’s time to call it a day so we can spend more time with our family.” Sheedy would have faced at least four other candidates for her council seat in the upcoming election, including former Obama campaign organizer

As our City leaders continue to debate how to finance an NBA-size arena in the downtown, climaxing with a final City Council vote in the next few weeks, here are ten reasons why I believe financing a new area with a 50-year "parking lot fee" agreement is not good for the financial and emotional well-being of our great City of Sacramento. (1) Fifty-year agreements encourage abuse and escalation of fees. If the capitalist system depends upon free enterprise and competition, 50-year agreements are an invitation for corruption and exploitation. Immediately or gradually, we will all curse the day this deal was done, every time we park downtown. (2) If you can afford $200-$500 for a family to

As the city pursues a potential lessee for the city’s parking inventory, there is an important question to ask: Could the city parking validation program end? If it does, is there a risk of damaging existing businesses – some of which have struggled in the downtown area for years? According to city parking services manager Howard Chan, Sacramento currently validates parking at city-owned garages for many local businesses and venues, providing an incentive to business owners: They buy the parking at a discount, and they have something to offer patrons as a courtesy. Merchants buy discounted parking tickets worth $5 of parking for 50 cents each, and the validation is good in any of nine ci

City Manager John Shirey withdrew a contract Tuesday with two firms that the City Council planned to consider as financial and technical advisers in the search for a potential parking operator lessee, assistant city manager John Dangberg said Wednesday. “We decided it just wasn’t the right direction to go for the process at this time,” Dangberg said. The city hired the firms – Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Walker Parking Consultants – in September to take an inventory of the city’s parking and come up with an evaluation of potential profit from leasing out the assets. Leasing out the city’s parking system is one of a handful of options under consideration for financing a new sports

The question of whether Sacramento will get a new sports arena heated up this year, as Sacramento Kings owners threatened to relocate the team to Anaheim and potential arena sites – such as a land swap with Cal Expo – came and went. Despite an emotional rollercoaster ride for Kings fans this year, supporters of the team refused to throw up their hands in defeat. Here’s what 2011 looked like from the bleachers. As plans for a land swap between the state fairgrounds at Cal Expo and the current Natomas arena site fell through, a task force appointed by Mayor Kevin Johnson recommended that Sacramento developer group ICON-Taylor explore the viability of building an arena in the downtown area.

The City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to pursue an agreement that could potentially bring in $250 million for a new arena by leasing the city’s parking system to a private operator. “This is just one piece – a very important piece – in our ability to build an entertainment sports complex,” City Manager John Shirey said Tuesday. Council members Darrell Fong and Sandy Sheedy were the only “no” votes. A recent analysis of the city’s parking system concluded that the city could lease the parking system to a private operator for 50 years – releasing all revenue and control of the system for the life of the lease – and receive an up-front lump payment of nearly $250 million. With an ongoing cit

Sacramento is currently replacing lighting in parking garages that will save an estimated $1.1 million over 11 years with no out-of-pocket expenses to the city. Older, less-efficient fluorescent lighting is currently being replaced by LED lighting, which will cut the energy usage by more than 50 percent, and five of the city’s eight parking garages finished being upgraded about two weeks ago, according to city officials. The other three will be completed in February. The five completed ones are Capitol Garage (10th and L streets), Downtown Plaza West Garage (Third and L streets), Downtown Plaza Central Garage (Fifth and J streets), City Hall Garage (10th and I streets) and Tower Bridge G

Abuse of disabled parking placards is no small problem in Sacramento, where a special task force is charged with tracking down offenders. To help reduce the misuse of disabled placards, the Sacramento Task Force On Placard Abuse was formed in 1996. According to Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, the task force consists of specially trained parking enforcement officers who investigate complaints on disabled placard abuse and issue misdemeanor citations when necessary. The city employs 50 parking enforcement officers, and two of those are full-time officers who go undercover to investigate the use of disabled parking placards in the city. Tucker said the task

Recently, A&E launched “Parking Wars,” a reality series chronicling the parking division in Philadelphia and Detroit and their encounters with the parking-impaired. I admit, I’m hooked. As I watched episode after episode, I found myself in awe at the sheer amount of rage that one dreaded slip of paper can instill in someone. As someone who has dumped my own fair share of hard-earned dollars into parking citations, I can understand why the ticketed become irate; times are tough and tickets are expensive. Curious why anyone would subject themselves to a job where harassment is guaranteed, I set my bitterness aside and asked the city if I could hang out with a parking enforcement officer. I

The Sacramento Antique Faire is always a popular event for the people of Sacramento, especially the stalwart crew of the Sacramento Parking Enforcement Division. These people gladly give up their Sundays so that they can spread cheer to the good folks who accidentally or knowingly park improperly while trying to find an antique or collectable bargain from among the many stallholders who come to these events. While walking back to my car, which I had correctly parked, I noticed a long line of cars all with a parking ticket attached to their windows. Most of them had parked in the cross street under the underpass which is, of course, a bicycle lane. Tut tut, serves them right etc. Imagine

Raley Field patrons will notice traffic flow improvements around the ballpark as the River Cats return to Sacramento for a four-game homestand beginning Friday, July 22, against the Reno Aces (Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks). Tower Bridge Gateway, which has been closed since the beginning of the season, is now completely open for both east and west bound traffic to and from the Tower Bridge. Fans using this route are encouraged to park in Lots G and H and take the pedestrian walkway on 5th Street. On all remaining Saturday games, and for the Sugarland concert on August 25, Lots R1 and R2 are also open for easy access to the ballpark via the 5th Street pedestrian walkway.

Sacramento officials believe a new arena can be integrated with a future regional transit center in the historic downtown railyards – making this one of the country's most eco-friendly sports and entertainment facilities, Assistant City Manager John Dangberg said Tuesday. At Tuesday night's City Council meeting, Dangberg gave council members a status report nearly halfway into a 100-day technical review of a proposed arena. The $387 million project is on an expedited schedule to be in operation by May 2015. One of the most critical issues being reviewed is the need to coordinate construction of an arena with the previously planned transit center. Both structures would be built on a site

Raley Field patrons will notice some exciting improvements around the ballpark as the River Cats return to Sacramento for an eight-game homestand beginning Thursday, May 19. Tower Bridge Gateway, which has been closed since the beginning of the season, is now opened for both east and west bound traffic with a slight detour, on what used to be 3rd street, to access the Tower Bridge. This will allow for easier access to the ballpark. Fans using this route are encouraged to park in Lots G and H and take the new pedestrian walkway on 5th street. On all remaining Saturday games and on Sunday, July 3, Lots R1 and R2 are open for easy access to the ballpark via the 5th Street pedestrian walkway

Introduction/Background: The purpose of the following open letter is to outline quality of life problems that many residential neighbors now face from over concentration of alcohol "entertainment" establishments in Midtown whether related to Second Saturday or other weekends as well. The article also includes recommended solutions to these problems but so far Midtown Business Association and city leaders have largely ignored them. This letter was written cooperatively by long-time Midtown residents, Bill Burgua, Karen Jacques, Dale Kooyman and Vito Sgromo, all of whom have successfully worked for years with many other residents to create a vibrant residential and business Midtown, which

When gas creeps up to $4 per gallon and affordable, full-sized alternative-fuel cars are in the nascent stage, it’s time to get smart about city driving. East Sacramentans who drive Neighborhood Electric Vehicles show it’s possible to forget hybrids and go totally electric right now. The flat Sacramento streets are a NEV paradise, and petite, lightweight, low-speed cars can zip into Safeway parking slots and park and charge in city garages for free. Pat Lynch of East Sacramento went electric in 2008. “We didn’t replace our combustion engine,” she said. “We use our other car for long drives but still chock up about 2,500 miles a year in the GEM car.” Lynch really likes the free city pa

Road work will be taking place downtown on F, G, H, Seventh and Eighth streets this month, causing street and lane closures as well as limited parking and pedestrian access. The roads are closed as part of the extension of the light rail Green Line, said Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the city of Sacramento. Click on the points in the map below to find out how your commute will be affected. View Road work from Feb. 7 - 27 in a larger map   From Feb. 7 - 27, G street will be completely closed at night between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. between Seventh and Eighth streets. Additionally, Eighth Street will narrow to two lanes between H and G streets. G street has already been narrowed to two l

A theater troupe that has made its home in a docked paddlewheel boat wants to trade its Sacramento River location for one in the heart of Midtown. Capital Stage Company got its start in 2005 in a 115-seat theatre inside the Delta King, which is now a floating hotel and restaurant in Old Sacramento. The group opened its newest show, "Reasons To Be Pretty," there last Friday. Now in their sixth season, the professional theater troupe's founders hope to increase the company's visibility and street presence by moving to busy J Street, a main artery through downtown and Midtown, co-founder and Producing Director Jonathan Williams said Thursday. "I can't tell you how many times we've been cal

Midtown residents and business owners gathered at the Ethel MacLeod Hart Senior Center Saturday morning to meet with city officials and representatives from the police department to discuss what can be done about the rise in violence and rowdiness following Second Saturday. For the first 30 minutes, more than 100 community members wrote on comment cards expressing concerns and proposing solutions. These were collected and sifted through for a seven-member "Safety Team" panel to address. Though Councilman Steve Cohn was adamant that the shooting death of Victor Hugo Perez Zavala was not inherently a Second Saturday problem, it was the obvious impetus for the gathering. In his introductory